EPA/Jim Lo ScalzoPresident Barack Obama delivers a brief statement to the media in the Rose Garden of the White House, urging Congress to pass legislation that he says will help small businesses, and revealing his concerns over leaks from the battlefield that ended up on the website WikiLeaks in Washington, D.C. on July 27.

EDISON — With a popular sandwich shop in Edison as the backdrop, President Obama comes to New Jersey Wednesday afternoon to push for passage of a bill designed to stimulate small businesses.

Obama will lead a roundtable discussion at the Tastee Sub Shop on Plainfield Avenue, a local institution, to promote the Small Business Jobs Act, which he hopes the Senate will pass this week. The roundtable will include Dave Thornton, the sub shop’s co-owner, along with owners of three other small businesses from different parts of the state.

The legislation would eliminate capital gains taxes for some small business investments and create a $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund for community banks. It would also provide $2 billion in grants for state programs designed to encourage small business growth, some of which have been cut because of budget problems.

"These benefits in the Small Business Jobs Act do translate into jobs," U.S. Small Business Administrator Karen Mills said in a conference call with reporters today. "We know that small businesses have been asking for this kind of help."

Wednesday’s visit will be Obama’s first to New Jersey since October, when he campaigned for the unsuccessful re-election of former Gov. Jon Corzine. He had planned a visit to Edison in May but canceled to visit the Gulf oil spill region instead.

HIGHLIGHTS OF OBAMA’S VISIT

• Air Force 1 is scheduled to arrive at Newark Liberty International Airport at approximately 12:50 p.m. President Obama will be greeted by Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Gov. Chris Christie. Travelers flying around that time should expect delays.

• A helicopter will fly Obama from Newark Liberty to Edison, where he’s scheduled to arrive at 1:30 p.m. He’ll meet with Mayor Antonia Ricigliano, before meeting with the owners of four small businesses from around the state at the Tastee Sub Shop on Plainfield Avenue. No word on whether he’ll try one of their famed 16-inch sandwiches.

• Edison police plan to close a half-mile stretch of Plainfield Avenue and divert traffic during the president’s visit, but they don’t yet know exactly when or for how long.

• Several tea party groups plan to protest the president’s visit, but they haven’t decided exactly where they’ll set up. "We want him to see us. We don’t want to be three blocks away somewhere," said Barbara Gonzales, founder of the Bayshore Tea Party.

• After leaving Edison, Obama will head to Manhattan, where he’ll tape a segment of "The View" and attend two Democratic fundraisers.

• Air Force One departs Newark Liberty at 8:40 p.m.

Thornton and Carl Padovano, co-owners of the Tastee Sub Shop, were on the first tee of a golf game late last week when they learned from Edison Mayor Antonia Ricigliano that the president planned to visit their business.

"Butterflies immediately kicked in," said Thornton, 57, of North Brunswick. "This would be the biggest thing that happened to me and Carl — ever."

Among the other business owners who will participate in Wednesday's roundtable is Theo Mastorakos, 29, who recently opened an Italian restaurant in Rochelle Park called Mama Roxy’s. He said Obama administration officials plucked him from a list of local business owners who had gotten loans from the Small Business Administration.

"I guess with my track record they just figured I fit the profile," he said, adding that he did not feel nervous."He’s a human being like me."

The others participating are Wayne residents Tom and Catherine Horsburgh, owners of Ridgid Paper Tube Corp., who took out four SBA loans to grow their business, and Brian Bovio of Sicklerville, operations manager at his third-generation family business, Bovio Advanced Comfort & Energy Solutions. A White House bio said Bovio was able to hire eight new employees by taking advantage of federal incentives for homeowners to install energy-saving measures.

Thornton said that while he’s not in need of a small business loan, he is concerned about the rising cost of health care.

"We’ve been fortunate," Thornton said. "We have had a health insurance policy here for our people since 1989, but the ever-rising cost for those premiums — that is one thing that’s on our mind right now."

Though Obama remains popular in New Jersey, a state he easily won in the 2008 election, his poll numbers here have slipped lately.

A Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll released July 17 found 52 percent of New Jersey voters approve of the president’s performance, while 42 percent disapproved. In July 2009, Obama had an approval rating of 59 percent.

President Obama to meet with business owners at Tastee Sub Shop in Edison on Wednesday

President Obama to meet with business owners at Tastee Sub Shop in Edison on WednesdayIt may seem like an unlikely venue, but Tastee Sub Shop in Edison – a hole in the wall sandwich stop – will host President Obama on Wednesday. There he plans to meet with local small business owners about the economy. Inside the local shop, there was nervousness, excitement and a few menu suggestions for the president. (Video by Michael Monday/The Star-Ledger)

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